Coffee is the lifeblood of New Yorkers and it plays a very important role in fueling the city that never sleeps. While there are coffee shops on every street corner and folks touting their to-go cups as a badge of honor, there is still a need for a deeper understanding of the cup of joe. We were recently also buying a new coffee machine and used Always Coffee to find the best choice as they cover all of the different types that you can buy.
Enter Abbotsford Road, a newly opened concept in Gowanus, Brooklyn that aims to elevate coffee culture and education throughout New York City. This passion project has been a major undertaking, developed by Phillip Di Bella, founder of Di Bella Coffee, alongside his partner Logan Kedwell who is a fellow coffee veteran from Australia. In their homeland, Phillip is celebrated as one of the top specialty coffee roasters and was named the 2016 Golden Bean champion.
Abbotsford Road will not only serve their custom coffee blends to guests, but will also bring a new sense of community to coffee lovers through educational classes, special events and aim to work alongside bars and restaurants to help them elevate their coffee programs.
“Our mission is to build the number one specialty coffee brand in New York,” Di Bella explains.
Kedwell expands on their mission, “To help the people we work with and partner with to succeed, because their success is our success.”
The Headquarters
While Australian style coffee shops have rapidly been on the rise in NYC over the past several years, Abbotsford Road is transporting much more than vibes from down under. Their Brooklyn headquarters is a super hip 2,700 sq. ft. homage to the cacao bean: equal parts roasting plant, café and educational meeting place.
Di Bella’s talents, experience and success have made him a major player in the global coffee scene and, because of that, he is able to utilize his relationships to gain access to some of the highest quality products and resources available. As part owner of ICT (International Coffee Traders) and its work directly with farmers, Phil Di Bella has access to an unparalleled network of green bean producers all over the world. ICT supplies Di Bella Coffee—where the proprietary Crop to Cup philosophy ensures fair prices for farmers and sustainability of crops—and then Di Bella Coffee supplies Abbotsford Road. It’s a simple chain ensuring that what ends up in the Gowanus headquarters is none other than the highest quality bean to service its customers.
Customers can expect to be treated to rare or hard to feed beans from around the world. In addition to the Panama Geisha, they anticipate sourcing from Rwanda, Haiti, Fiji, and other areas that are not commonly found.
To foster education and inclusivity, there will be a range of classes and seminars across all areas of the coffee and café business such as roasting courses, latte art competitions, home barista lessons and industry workshops involving insurance, marketing and café set-ups.
The Mission
Abbotsford Road has very ambitious goals but it’s primary mission is to serve as a specialty wholesaler and to provide café owners and restaurateurs with both the highest quality product and the comprehensive educational resources necessary for success. Di Bella and his team of experts want to share their knowledge and experience with others in the hospitality industry.
Rather than view them as competitors, Di Bella and Kedwell explain, “We are manufacturers of high quality and consistent coffee supplying cafes in New York to serve great coffee to their customers. We are not a retail brand who competes with cafes. Our service, support and education is a major point of difference over any other competitor. It’s all about the customer.”
They also have shipping options for those who want to welcome Abbotsford Road their homes and offices with delivery of their freshly roasted coffee.
The coffee itself is informed by the company’s prevailing ethos that coffee culture need not be esoteric, snobby or complex.
The Coffee Roasts
Three distinct signature blends are currently available at Abbotsford Road: Forza, Crema and Vivo. While it’s true that certain beans taste best with specific brewing methods, the three signature blends available at launch maintain flavor regardless of the brewing style and machine used. They are also exceptionally consistent, a result of Phil Di Bella’s meticulous control over the sourcing process. They are roasted and blended in such a way that the flavor profiles cut through milk enough to be distinguishable, and adding sugar is not necessary.
The initial blends will be Forza: full bodied and strong with hints of dark chocolate, hazelnut and caramel, Crema; balanced and smooth with hints of butterscotch, malt and nuts, and Vivo; fruity and sweet with hints of cherry, honey and toffee. Also offered will be distinct single origin roasted beans such as a rare Panama Don Pepe Estate Geisha, a single origin estate green bean program where customers can choose their own roasts, and a bean subscription service.
Abbotsford Road has a very special roaster that is actually environmentally friendly. It’s an IMF Industrial Roaster—it uses recirculating heat technology to reduce gas consumption by at least 30%. They each retail between $12-$34.
Abbotsford Road is currently served at these fine establishments:
- Wattle Café
- Burke and Wills
- Paradigm Café
- Good Company Coffee House
- Gold Roast Café
- Rum Café
- Mr. White
- Wish Espresso Group
- Rush Espresso Café and Wine Bar
- Ilios Café at Red Ventures
- Smith and Chang
Abbotsford Road details
573 Sackett Street, Gowanus, NY, 11217
Hours of operation: Monday-Friday 7AM-5PM, Saturday-Sunday 9AM-3PM.
www.abbotsfordroad.com | @abbotsford_road
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